Kiss
by pikapikatchu
Summary: Greg gets nervous when the ballistics tech kisses him. Meanwhile, Nick spends some time with a new friend.
1. Chapter 1

**Hey guys!**

**I hope you're still interested in my stories! This one's gonna be a little bit lighter than the previous one. But there's enough Drama going on to keep you interested, I hope! :)**

**Enjoy!**

**Big Love,**

**pikapikatchu**

* * *

Charlotte Knotts, the new ballistics expert in the lab, had a big crush on Greg Sanders. She wasn't one to be all shy about this. She was a pretty straightforward person who didn't really care what other people thought about her. She made some pretty obvious remarks towards Greg, but he didn't take the hints. She was a beautiful woman, 5'8'', shoulder length blonde hair, gorgeous hazel eyes, slender, but rather muscular built with a cute smile. She knew she was beautiful and wasn't too shy to show off her good looks, fact that Greg didn't seem all too interested in her only made it more interesting. She enjoyed flirting with him and thought the challenge was quite exciting. Usually if she liked a guy, she would flirt a few times and then simply ask him out for a date. But this time, she decided the bluntness could wait a little while. "Hey Greg," she said with a playful smile as she sat down next to him in the break room. "How's it going?"

"Hey Charlotte..." he said without looking up. He was just going through some case files. "Good, you?"

She sighed a bit. "I'm good. So..." She gently put his files down to make him look at her. "I'm having a party next Saturday. You wanna come?"

He looked a bit surprised. While she thought they already had several conversations and started to build some kind of friendship, he felt he didn't know her at all. "Uh... Sure, I think I have the night off... What kind of party is it?"

"Ah well you know, I'm just inviting a few friends over to my place. It's been three months since I moved here, it's time for a house warming party!" She laughed.

"Well then, I'll be there. Is anyone else from the lab coming?"

"Uh, sure... I invited... Hodges and Nick... and Sara's coming, too."

"Cool, I'm sure it's gonna be fun," he said smiling before turning his head to the files again.

* * *

Friday arrived. Greg was working a case with Nick and walking with him into the trace lab. "So..." Greg said, "Do you guys want to share a cab to Charlotte's party?"

"Oh I'm not going..." Nick said while briefly looking up from the microscope.

"Yeah me neither." Hodges grabbed a book from a shelf.

"...Why not?"

" 'Cause we need to work tomorrow."

"Oh okay... Maybe Sara will join me then..."

"Sara's working, too."

"What?! Ah great... Now I have to go to that party all by myself. I don't know any of Charlotte's friends. And I don't really know Charlotte, either..."

"She seems nice," Nick said while patting Greg on the back. He shared a look with Hodges. Both men knew that Charlotte was into Greg. After all, she didn't make it a secret. They thought it was hilarious Greg didn't know, though. "I'm sure you're gonna have a blast."

* * *

Sunday, the day after the party, Greg was back to work. He walked into the break room, where Hodges, Henry and Nick were already chatting. "Hey, there he is! How was the party?"

"It was fun. Charlotte has some really great friends," he replied while walking towards the coffee machine. "...but..."

Nick turned around to him. "But what?"

"Ah nothing." He shook his head as he poured coffee into his cup.

Nick, Henry and Hodges all shared a grin. "Come on, what is it? You can tell us."

"Well, at the party Charlotte introduced me to everybody, you know?" He sat down at the table. He noticed the guys trying to hold back their laughs, but didn't mind them at first. "I felt like they were trying to set me up with one of them..."

All three of them looked rather surprised. They all expected a fun story about how Charlotte came onto him. "Why would you think that?"

"Well, Charlotte kind of ignored me. At least it felt that way... And had me stuck with..." He stopped talking as he poured some milk into his cup and sat down again sighing. "...A guy named Marvin..." For a short second, the guys managed to hold back their laughter, but then couldn't help themselves. They bursted out in laughter. Greg waited for them to calm down a bit as he rolled his eyes. "You done?"

"Sorry..." Nick giggled. "Why do you think they tried to hook you up with him? Are you even sure he's gay?"

"I'm pretty sure he is. And everyone kept on telling me how great he was."

"And you didn't mention 'Hey, by the way. Not gay!' ?" Hodges asked laughing.

"I... uh... didn't really get a chance to smooth this into any conversation. Would've been weird to just burst it out, don't you think?"

"Yeah well isn't it weirder that this guy might get his hopes up and ask Charlotte for your number?"

"Then I'll get a chance to clear things up. No big deal." Greg shrugged as he sipped from his coffee.

"Hey, party poopers!" Charlotte walked in grinning, winking at Greg. "Hey gorgeous!"

"So we heard your party was a big success," Henry said smiling.

"At least for some..." Hodges whispered to a giggling Nick.

"It was amazing!" she started to tell some stories from the party. "Did you enjoy yourself, too, Greg?"

He nodded. "Yeah, it was fun." He wanted to go on, but Charlotte interrupted him.

"So Nick, you're still seeing that girl... what's her name, Joan?"

Nick shook his head. "Nah, it didn't work out. We're too different."

"Well that's a shame! But I have just the right girl for you! Emily, beautiful smile, dark brown eyes, shiny blonde hair. You've met her Greg, wouldn't she be perfect for Nick?"

"Well, I..."

Again, she didn't let him finish. "How about I give her your number?"

Nick looked a bit baffled. "Well... What do you think of her, Greg? You think she might be my type?"

"She seemed nice."

"You're quite the matchmaker, huh, Charlotte?" Hodges grinned. "Have any friend you could hook me up with?"

"Hm..." she thought about it for a while. "Oh, sure! There's Kay for you and... Henry, how about my friend Megan?"

All two of them looked at Greg, waiting to approve. When he nodded with a slight shoulder shrug, they smiled excited. "Great! Set us up!"

"You know guys, that's really fun! I'm getting all of you girlfriends!" She laughed, patting Greg's shoulder and walking out.

Greg raised an eyebrow as he watched her walk away. "...What the hell just happened?!"

"What do you mean?" Nick asked.

"She hooked you all up with one of her girl friends and I get stuck with Marvin?!"

Nick laughed. "Then go and say something. Clear it up."

"No... I..."

"Yeah Nick, maybe he and Marvin are meant to be together, who are we to meddle?" Hodges grinned devilish.


	2. Chapter 2

**Hey guys! I'm glad you're all enjoying the story so far! Hope I can meet your expectations! :)**

* * *

Greg was, as well as Hodges, pulling a double and hanging around in the trace lab rather bored. "I hate those days... I'm tired, I want to go home and get some sleep but have to stay here doing nothing..."

Hodges rolled his eyes. "You know there's a lot you are supposed to do."

"Ah that can wait. I just need some time to chill... recharge my batteries without sleeping." His cell phone rang and he tiredly answered it. "Sanders. Oh, hey..." He had an uncomfortable look on his face. "No, it's not too early to call, it's just..." he went on to explain to Marvin over the phone that he was not gay. "...Oh, no. I'm sorry, I just figured you... Yeah, I had fun, too, I..." After talking to him for a few minutes, he hung up the phone with a faint smile on his face.

"Got yourself a date?" Hodges asked teasing.

"He wasn't hitting on me and Charlotte wasn't trying to set me up with him."

"What did he want, then?"

"He just wants to see me again."

"So... he did ask you out on a date?"

"No." Greg hastily shook his head. "Just as friends."

"Oh for Christ's sake! You can't be that naive!"

"...He's not gay, either. We were just having a good time and I guess he wants us to be friends."

"Oh, suuuure..."

"**You **might never get a reaction like that when you first meet people, but it's not uncommon," Greg teased with an evil grin.

* * *

After work, Nick and Greg walked out of the lab. On their way to the parking lot, Marvin walked up to them with a smile. "Hey Greg!" Marvin was bulky looking man as he was doing weight lifting as a hobby.

"Oh hey Marvin." He introduced Nick and all three of them ended up in some small talk.

"So..." Marvin finally said, "Nick, you wanna join us? We're having a beer."

Nick hesitated for a moment, but after Greg asked him to come with, too, he agreed.

As the three men walked off, Charlotte watched them with a confused and rather disappointed look on her face. "What the hell is he doing?!"

Hodges looked puzzled. "What do you mean?"

"He's not supposed to take Nick with him! Just Greg!"

* * *

"I brought another round!" Marvin said joyful as he walked over to the booth Greg and Nick were sitting in. They already had a few drinks, but Marvin obviously wasn't done, yet.

Greg had a look on his face that could tell he worried drinking another drink would be too much. "I don't know, I..."

"Come on! Last one, I promise."

While consideration was shown on Greg's face, Nick chimed in. "You do know you have to work tomorrow?"

"...You're right, I do."

"So?" Marvin grinned. Charlotte gave him a mission that involved getting Greg at least a little drunk. She couldn't have known he was having his own agenda.

"Well..." Greg looked at his watch. "Okay, last one and that's it." As the night progressed, Greg indeed got a little drunk. But he called it a night before he would get wasted. "I should get going now."

Nick nodded, getting ready to leave.

"Hey Nick, you don't have to work tomorrow, do you?" Marvin asked.

"Well, no, but..."

"But what? We're having fun! Just because he has to go doesn't mean we have to, either, right?"

Greg nodded while shrugging his shoulder.

Nick thought about it for a moment, then agreed. "Alright. I'll get the next round!"

"Have fun you guys," Greg said laughing while walking out of the bar.

* * *

Charlotte walked into the break room the next day. Greg was sitting there, drinking his coffee and reading a newspaper.

"There he is! How was it yesterday?" she said with a big smile.

"It was fun. Nick and Marvin stayed after I left, don't know for how long, though. They got along real great."

Charlotte raised an eyebrow. "Yeah, I've seen the three of you leave. So, Marv's a pretty hard drinker, right? Could you keep up with him?"

Greg chuckled. "I know my limit and try not to go overboard with the drinks. But it looked like him and Nick were. Marvin's a really cool guy."

She looked slightly disappointed at him. "Yeah, he's great. So... what did you two talk about? Boy-stuff?"

"All kinds of stuff." He started to become a little bit suspicious. He wondered why she would ask so many weird questions. "There's nothing wrong with him, right?"

"...What should be wrong with him?"

"I don't know..."

She playfully patted his shoulder. "You shouldn't worry so much! Try to be a little more lightheartedly!"

The past few months had been rather hard on Greg and he indeed kind of lost his jauntiness. He tried to hide that fact, though. "I am. It's just... all your questions got me wondering."

"I'm just nosy, don't mind me!" She laughed. "...So... what did you talk about? Any girls in Marv's life lately?"

"Well I..." It dawned on Greg. She was being so nosy because she was into Marvin, he was sure. He shook his head with a big smile. "He didn't mention anyone but was talking a lot about you..."

"Really? What did he say?" She had a sexy smile on her lips.

"Charlotte, I need you to process these," Russell walked in with a box full of guns. "One of them should be my murder weapon."

She looked at Greg quite seductive. "We'll talk about this later."


	3. Chapter 3

**Thank you guys for the reviews and follows! :)**

* * *

For the rest of the day, Charlotte didn't get another opportunity to talk to Greg. She was at the lab the whole time, and he was out at a scene. She wouldn't get the opportunity to do that the following day, either, but Nick did. "Hey Greg." He walked up to him in the locker room.

"Hey." Greg opened his locker. "How was the rest of the night?"

"I'm not sure," he replied laughing. When he noticed Greg's questioning look, he went on. "I kind of drank way more than I ever planned on drinking and..."

"...You had a blackout?"

"No, of course not! ...Well, maybe a little. There's some pieces missing, but all in all it was a great night."

"So you like Marvin?"

"Sure, he's great. He did talk a lot about Charlotte, though, huh?"

Greg grinned. "I think they might be into each other."

"...Yeah? How so?"

"Well yesterday she asked all these questions. What we were talking about, if we talked about girls... I think she wanted to find out whether or not he's available."

Now it was Nick who grinned. He was absolutely positive it was Greg she wanted. "Wow. Nothing gets past you, huh?" He patted him on the shoulder as he laughed. "Well, now that I think about it... Charlotte wasn't the only thing he wanted to talk about. He also asked a lot of questions about our work."

"He did? I don't remember him asking anything about it."

Nick shook his head. "He didn't until you left."

* * *

"Marvin wants me to say hi." Greg put his cell phone away while walking up to Nick at a crime scene.

Nick looked at his watch. "It's 4 a.m. He's calling you at this time? ...He's awake at this time?"

Greg nodded. "He's unemployed at the moment, guess he doesn't need to get up in the morning." He went on to start collecting evidence all around the crime scene. "You know... I'm thinking about playing matchmaker for them."

"...Huh?"

"For Charlotte and Marvin! They're obviously into each other but don't seem to be able to get together without any help."

"I think if Charlotte would be interested in him, she'd go after him. She's not a shy person." Nick giggled a bit.

"Then why isn't she?"

Nick rolled his eyes a bit with a grin. "Maybe it's not him she's interested in, you fool."

* * *

Charlotte walked through the lab's halls and was quite surprised to see Marvin making his way towards the break room. "Marv! Hey! What are you doing here?"

"Oh hey Charlotte. I'm just here to visit Greg like you asked me to." He stopped to greet her.

"...Today?! He's pulling a double today, I told you that. You were supposed to come here on Thursday!"

"Really? Oh, shoot. I'm sorry. I forgot about that..." He started walking towards the break room again.

"Wait!" She pulled his arm to keep him from walking. "Where the hell are you going? Leave before he sees you, or else he's gonna get suspicious!"

Marvin laughed. "What? No, I came all the way down here, I might as well say hi."

As he kept on walking, Charlotte gave him a venomous look.

"Nick, hi!" Marvin said joyful as he walked into the break room.

"...What are you doing here?" Nick said with a faint, but surprised, smile.

"I figured I could finally see what your guys' workplace looks like and pick you up to do something after work. Where's Greg?"

Nick looked at his watch. It was already 8 a.m. "Oh he's at a crime scene, he's pulling a double today."

"Ah damn, that's too bad!" he said fake. "What about you?"

"I'm actually pretty much done with my work, just need to fill out some papers and then I'm ready to go."

"Great. You're up for dinner? ...Well, breakfast actually, but since you're..."

Nick laughed. "I get it. Yeah sure, why not."

* * *

Greg was in the evidence room checking out some clothes he collected at a crime scene while Nick was out eating breakfast with their new friend. Being as tired as he was, it took him a whole five minutes to notice Charlotte standing in the doorway, staring at him. He startled a bit once he finally saw her. "...Oh hey... You scared me."

"You do know Nick's eating pancakes with Marvin while you're here working your ass off?"

"What are you talking about?" he asked frowning while checking some pants for semen.

"Marvin was here two hours ago. He wanted to pick you up after work."

"I didn't know about that, but I couldn't have come with, anyway. As you see, I'm working." He was a little confused as to why she was being so aggressive.

"That's all you got to say to this?"

"What, you think I'm jealous because they're doing something together without me?" He laughed.

"You know, you can be such a jerk for being so cute sometimes."

"...What's going on? Did I do something wrong I don't know about?"

She walked a few steps towards him. "What were you thinking, introducing Nick to Marvin?"

"Uh... I don't know, that it'd be rude not to? What's your problem, Charlotte?"

"It wasn't supposed to play out like that, you know?" She grabbed the UV-light out of his hands and put it on the light table. "The plan was for him to spend some time with you and get an idea into your head."

"...What? You planned for him to befriend me?! Why?!"

She rolled his eyes. "I thought you're a smart guy. How can you be so oblivious?"

"...Oblivious to what?"

Charlotte laughed over the irony of that question before proceeding to kiss Greg.


	4. Chapter 4

**Here comes another one!**

* * *

"Russell... Can... Can I talk to you for a second?" Greg stood in the doorway to Russell's office with a distraught look on his face.

"Sure. Is everything okay?" Russell offered him to sit down.

Greg did. "Can you forget for a moment that you're my supervisor?"

"Well that depends on what this is about, really."

The CSI began to tell the story of how he met Marvin and that he's out with Nick at the moment. Russell, although he knew that Charlotte had a thing for Greg, wasn't quite sure where the story was going. "Well and then... She kissed me."

Russell raised both his eyebrows. "Wow. How'd you react?"

"...By pushing her away."

"How? What did you say?"

"No, I mean..." He got off his seat. "I actually pushed her away! Literally!"

Russell wasn't quite sure what to say. He was shocked, to say the least. "...Why'd you do that?"

"I-I don't know! I panicked... Ever since I..." Greg sighed desperately. "She caught me by surprise, I didn't know what else to... I..." He didn't find the words to say that he still didn't get over all the times Novak forced himself on him. It still haunted him sometimes. Psychologically, he made great improvements in dealing with his traumas. Emotionally, though, he still wasn't over it. And although Charlotte was a friend he trusted, he got scared in that situation. His mind shut down and his instincts kicked in, which caused him to overreact like that. He was quite ashamed for his reaction.

Luckily for him, Russell got what he was trying to say. He nodded. "How did she react?"

"I think she used all her strength to keep herself from slapping me, called me something I'd rather not repeat and left. I tried to apologize and explain, but... she didn't give me a chance."

"Well I don't really blame her for that."

"You don't need to tell me what I already know. She has every right to be pissed."

Russell frowned a bit. "Now what?"

Greg sat down again. "I was hoping you could tell me."

"Well, I suppose I could talk to her and try to explain your reaction. But I'm not sure that's the right way to deal with this. I'm sure she'd appreciate it if she'd hear it from you."

"I know but... I'm so embarrassed... I'd love to avoid her for the next... I don't know, three years."

Russell chuckled. "I'm sure it's not that bad. She'll calm down eventually. And when she does, try to talk to her. If it's not working, I'll do my best, alright?"

Greg sighed as he got off his seat. "Alright... Let's do it that way..."

* * *

Greg decided to give Charlotte as much time as possible to cool off, but he also felt like he needed to talk about this as soon as possible. News traveled fast in the lab and a few hours after Greg had his talk with Russell, he was approached by Henry and Hodges in the break room. "Hey Greg..." Both had stupid grins on their faces.

Greg greeted them by briefly looking up from his case files.

They sat down opposite him. "So... What's new?"

He raised an eyebrow. "Well, I got work to do. That's new," he replied rather sarcastically.

"Well.. Don't you wanna hear the latest gossip around here? 'Cause we got a very juicy story!" Henry said excited.

Greg looked down at his files for a second. Like everybody else, he loved gossip and couldn't resist. "Okay, spill it."

"Well, rumor has it Charlotte kissed somebody in the evidence room... and he shoved her away, causing her to fall down and hit her head on the wall!" Hodges grinned, sharing a look with Henry.

"...What?!" Greg exclaimed shocked. "Who the hell's telling that?! ...Did they say who the guy was...?"

Both men started laughing. "We couldn't believe it was you when we heard it, but thanks for your confirmation!"

Greg's surprised look turned into an angry one. "Okay, first of all, that's none of your business! And second, that isn't even what happened! Who told you that?!"

"Well, the second part... Let's write it up to artistic freedom," Hodges explained. "But the part about you rejecting Charlotte like **that**, that's all over the lab. Plus, we're Charlotte's friends and that fact makes it our business, too," he said, trying to justify his meddling.

"I don't believe this! I did nothing wrong! It's my right to... If the roles were reversed no one..." Greg sighed defeated. Whatever reasonable excuse he could think of didn't make up for the fact of how insensitive he rejected a good friend of his. "I just don't know what to do about it."

"I'm not sure there is a lot you can do. You hurt her feelings." Henry was trying to be a little more sensitive. He could see how hard this was on Greg.

* * *

"With my luck, you probably already know, but I really need to talk to you about this so... Call me back, alright? Bye." Greg hung up his phone. He tried to call Nick, but he wouldn't pick up, so he decided to leave a message. Both sad and annoyed, he walked into Russell's office again. "Thanks a lot!"

"...For what?" Russell asked puzzled.

"When I said 'Don't act like my supervisor' I didn't mean 'Go and tell everyone you know about this'!"

"I'm afraid I don't know what you're talking about."

"Everyone around the lab knows! Even some police officers asked me about it! I didn't think I had to be specific about who I wanted you to talk to about this!" Greg sat down with an angry look on his face.

Russell gave him a moment to cool off, then replied. "Why should I run around the lab and tell everyone about this? This doesn't help you or Charlotte in any way to get past it."

"...You didn't? Then who did?"

Russell shrugged. "Did you tell anyone else?"

"No."

"Not even Nick?"

Greg shook his head. "I just tried to call him, but he's probably asleep. I didn't tell anyone else."

"Well... Then maybe Charlotte did."


	5. Chapter 5

**Next chapter!**

* * *

The plan of giving Charlotte enough time to cool off was changed. He needed to talk to her about this now. "Charlotte," he said while walking into the ballistics lab. "I wanted to talk to you about..."

" 'bout what, Sanders?" she replied aggressively.

"I think you know."

"What's there to talk about? You made your feelings towards me pretty clear. Though I didn't think you'd hate me that much."

"...I don't hate you! We're friends, you know that."

Charlotte laughed humorlessly. "The only thing I know is that you find me repulsive enough to push me away when I make a move on you."

He hastily shook his head, trying to explain what the reason for his reaction really was. As he was talking about Novak and how this affected his life, how he didn't even think of having a relationship ever since this all happened, Charlotte had a rather unimpressed look on her face.

"Is that it?" she asked, obviously not caring.

"...I just want you to know that my reaction had nothing to do with you. You're a great friend and a beautiful woman and..."

She interrupted him. "You think I don't know that? I'm well aware of my value on the dating market. I'm a catch and you obviously don't deserve me."

Greg wasn't sure whether he should take this as arrogance or confidence. "I just want you to know how sorry I am. I don't want this to hurt our friendship."

Charlotte rolled her eyes. "Whatever. Are you done?"

"...You're not going to forgive me?"

"The hell I will. What you did was unforgivable."

Greg's fuse has gotten shorter over the years, which caused him to blow up over this. "What** I **did? How about what **you** did? Did I ask you to kiss me? Did I ever give you the slightest sign to let you think it was okay to do that? To top it all off, you ran around the lab telling everybody about what happened! And what about introducing me to Marvin so that he could play matchmaker for you?! Forgive me, don't forgive me, whatever. Just don't act like it was all my fault and you're innocent!" He stormed off. The second he left the room, he regretted what he just did.

* * *

"Hey Sara," Greg said as he walked into the locker room the next day. "Is Nick in yet?"

She shook her head. "Haven't seen him yet. Is everything alright? You don't look too good."

He sighed. "At least one person who doesn't know yet..." He briefly explained to her what went down. He received sympathy, just like he knew he would, but still, it was something he'd rather talk over with Nick. Greg looked at his watch. "I need to leave for a crime scene in a few minutes. If you see him, can you tell him I need to talk to him?"

* * *

Greg had been at his crime scene for almost two hours now, but no word from Nick yet. He tried calling him again but only his voice mail answered. He started to worry an decided to call Russell. "Hey boss. Has Nick checked in yet?"

"_No, he's sent an e-mail saying he's sick, he won't come in today."_

"An e-mail?" Greg asked suspicious. He sighed. "Alright, thanks." Since Marvin was the one last seen with Nick, Greg decided to ask him about it.

"_Yeah he said he wasn't feeling too well, so he went home. Must be something he ate, I think."_

"Okay, thanks. Oh, there's something else I wanted to ask you. I need to talk to you about something, can I come over sometime after work?"

"...Today? I'm a little busy today, can't this wait?"

Greg sighed. "I'd like to get this over with."

"How about you call me?"

Greg raised an eyebrow. "We're already talking over the phone. It's something I'd like to discuss in person." When Marvin started to stutter, trying to find excuses, Greg was getting impatient. "You're unemployed, how hard can it be to take out half an hour of your day to find some time to spend with a friend? Come on, this is important."

Greg could hear Marvin sigh rather annoyed into the phone. "Alright. How about I come by your place later today? Around 5 p.m.?"

"Wasn't too hard, was it? See you then." Greg hung up annoyed. The fact that Marvin acted like a friend when he was just hanging around with Greg to fulfill Charlotte's crazy plan was making him really angry. He looked around his crime scene, cringing over the fact he had to work a violent shooting. This meant he'd have to spend lots of time in the ballistics lab, the place at work he least wanted to be at the moment.

* * *

The awkwardness of the moment couldn't get any worse as Greg was walking into the ballistics lab. Charlotte gave him a venomous look and didn't say one word work-unrelated. He didn't feel like making any small talk, either, but hated this awful silence. The only good news was that Charlotte had his results ready and he could leave as soon as she handed them over. He grabbed the files and walked out while taking a look at them. He turned around and walked back in when he noticed something. "None of these bullets match the ones the victims were shot with."

Charlotte gave him a look. "There's a riddle for ya, Mr. CSI."

Greg rolled his eyes. "Did you check all of the guns I collected?"

"No, I put most of them away for my private collection," she replied sarcastically. "Are you trying to tell me how to do my job?"

"It was just a question. How am I supposed to know whether or not you were done with all of them? You didn't say anything."

"Well, I did check them all. Any other questions you want me to answer? Because I'd know a lot of things to say to you."

Greg slammed the files down on a desk angrily. "Then shoot."

She looked him up and down, then went on. "I'd rather not. The way you're acting all sensitive and fragile these days I'll only make you cry."

Greg laughed humorlessly. "**I'm** the one acting sensitive and fragile?! You're acting like I killed your puppy when all I did was reject you!"

"Reject me? You did more than just reject me! Ever heard about letting someone down easy?"

"I tried to explain my reaction to you but you wouldn't listen. I didn't mean to hurt you, you should know that."

She shrugged her shoulder. "Doesn't matter, you did."

"Yeah well, and you hurt me when you sent Marvin to befriend me with the intention to talk me into dating you. That's crazy, by the way."

She got off her seat to close the door. "You know, I usually just tell someone I like him. But you weren't getting **any** of my hints, so I decided to make a game out of it. But this idiot Marvin blew it, so I kissed you. And then **you** ruined it, too!"

Greg shook his head. There was no point in fighting, Charlotte obviously wasn't up for reconciliation. "It'd be a shame if our friendship would end like this. I understand you're angry with me, but you seem to be forgetting that we'll have to work together." He picked up the results again and walked out.


	6. Chapter 6

**Anxious to find out what's going on with Marvin and where Nick is? ;) Any theories?  
**

* * *

An impatient Greg waited for Marvin to visit him at home. He told him he'd be there at 5 p.m., but it was already half past five. Shortly before Greg would decide to call him and ask where he was, Marvin knocked on the door. Greg opened and was surprised over the sight. "Marvin... What happened?" he asked surprised as he noticed a few bruises on the man's face.

"Nothing, just a jerk who thought he could mess with me. Don't worry, he's looking worse."

Greg didn't know how to reply to that, it just gave him assurance that being friends with Marvin wouldn't work out. "Do you need some ice or something?"

"It's fine. What do you want to talk about?" Marvin asked rather impatiently himself, sitting down on the couch.

Greg started to tell him that he knew why they met in the first place, how disappointed he was and that he felt betrayed. He finished off by telling him he didn't want to see him for the next few weeks. He had no intention to see him after that time, but he didn't want to tell him this so bluntly.

Without many emotions, Marvin got off his seat. "That it?"

"...Well, yeah. If you don't have anything to say to this."

"Alright. Have a good day," he said while opening the door.

"...That's it? You're not even trying to defend your behavior?"

"Greg, I'm kind of in a hurry. I told you I was gonna be busy today but you insisted on meeting me, anyway. What do you want me to say? I'm sorry." He didn't even try to make this sound sincere.

"I can't believe you or Charlotte. You're both crazy, huh?"

This made Marvin a bit aggressively. He turned around to Greg. "I'm not crazy, you got that?!"

The surprise was clearly obvious in Greg's face. Although this man betrayed him and lied to him, he still cared about him, at least a bit. "...Are you sure you're alright?" Greg noticed the sunglasses Marvin was wearing on his head. He tried to cheer him up. "You know Nick has the exact same pair?"

Marvin gave Greg a look he didn't know what it meant at first. "That's nice," he said before leaving.

* * *

Greg decided to look after Nick before heading to work today. He tried calling him and ask him if he needed anything, but again he landed on voice mail, so he figured it would be okay to drive over without announcing it. When he arrived, Nick wouldn't open the door. Worried Nick might be too sick to get the door, he used the spare key he had to the apartment and walked in. "Nick? Are you there?" He wandered through each room but didn't find his friend. No sign to show he'd been here the last few days, either. No newspapers, no used dishes. Greg started to get more and more suspicious. "Hey Archie," he said into his phone. "There's something I need you to check ASAP. No, nothing case-related..."

* * *

Greg had asked Archie to find out where the computer that was used to send the e-mail that claimed Nick was home sick was located at. When he found out, he wasn't all that surprised and decided to go there. He knocked on the door. "Marvin, are you there?"

After a few minutes, Marvin opened up. "Greg, what the hell?" he asked panting.

"Is Nick here?"

"...Why would he be? What are you talking about?" he asked quite nervously.

"Because he sent an e-mail from your home claiming to be sick and you even covered him. He wasn't in on your bar fight, was he?"

"Greg, you have to leave. I'll tell Nick to call you if I see him but..."

"Stop it. I know he's here. What's going on?"

"It uh... It's complicated but... He needs some time away from you, okay?"

"...What?"

"He told me about some problems you were dealing with some time ago and... He just needs some time alone, you know?"

Greg raised an eyebrow. "What kind of problems?"

Marvin laughed nervously. "I'm not gonna repeat what a friend told me confidentially."

"Why? 'Cause you think I don't know about it already?" Greg let himself in, although Marvin made it quite clear through his body language that he didn't want that.

"Hey! **Hey!**" Marvin got angry again. He pushed Greg against the door. "Get out!"

Greg looked quite terrified. "...What are you doing?"

"I'm sorry, is there any law that forbids me to decided who I let into my apartment these days? Last time I checked, I had a right to be alone in here."

"...I just wanted to see Nick. There's no need to get physical."

"Just get the hell out of my apartment! He's not here!"

"Alright! I'm sorry, I..." As Greg's eyes wandered through the apartment, he noticed something. The way his eyes stayed on that spot let Marvin know he noticed, but Greg acted like he didn't. He didn't even know what to make of this. "If you see Nick, please tell him to call me, okay?"

"Sure thing..." Marvin said in a calm tone.

* * *

When Greg walked out of the apartment complex, he called Russell. "I'm not sure, but I think Nick's in trouble. His shirt was lying on the floor. It had blood on it. Yeah, I'm sure it's his. Russell, Marvin was acting really weird and nervous. I think Nick's in there."


	7. Chapter 7

**Okay, I (hopefully) kept you at the edge of your seat for long enough! Let's see how Nick's doing ;) **

**And Merry Christmas to all my dear readers! **

**Big Love,**

**pikapikatchu**

* * *

It didn't take Russell long to arrive together with Brass and a few police officers. They discussed their plan of approach with Greg and then went in. Because they feared Nick might be in immediate danger, they kicked in the door without knocking first. "LVPD! Get down!"

Marvin was sitting on his couch watching TV when they stormed in. He was confused and didn't put his hands up first, but jumped off his couch. "What the hell?!"

The officers walked up closer to him. "Hands up!"

Marvin did, staring at Greg in shock. "What the hell are you doing?!"

When the officers cleared the apartment, Greg put his gun down and walked up to Marvin. "Where is he?"

"Who?!"

Greg walked up to Nick's shirt on the floor and picked it up. "When I test this blood and get confirmation that it's Nick's..."

"It is Nick's," Marvin said, giving Greg a confused look.

Greg could feel the anger building up in him. He walked away from Marvin and up to Brass. "I-I can't do this. I'll..."

Brass nodded understanding. "Okay, here's how it's going down. You can either tell us where he is and pray to god he's still alive or..."

"He **is** alive," Marvin replied, interrupting the Detective. "What's wrong with you tools?"

"...That's it!" Greg walked over to Marvin aggressively. He had to be stopped by two police officers, or else he would've punched Marvin. "Where is he?!"

"I don't know." Marvin chuckled.

"What the hell are you laughing at?!"

"Nothing... I just wonder how much money I could get out of this."

Russell observed the scenery for a while before chiming in. He was the only one who started to understand what was going on. "Officers, why don't you get the handcuffs off of him and let him sit down and explain." He received a venomous look by Greg, who was too angry to even try to understand what was happening.

* * *

"I have no idea where he is. All I know is he's fine." Marvin was sitting on the couch, trying to explain what was going on. "We got into a bar fight the other night, that's why there's blood on his shirt. He changed and... Well, we were drunk, that's why it was lying on the floor."

Charlotte had heard about what was going on in Marvin's apartment and decided to join them. "What's going on in here?"

"Charlotte, what are you doing here?" he asked surprised. It was obvious he didn't want her to be here.

"Is Nick okay? What happened to your face?"

Charlotte was filled in on what they already knew before Marvin went on to explain. "We were at the bar with two friends of mine and... Two guys kept on hitting on the girls."

"What girls?" she asked.

"...Valerie and... Suzanne."

"Suzanne?! That skank? What was she doing with... You tried to set her up with Nick?!" Charlotte was furious. The police officers and Greg were watching them fight about this for a while before Greg decided to break it off.

"Alright, enough! You can take care of your high school drama when we find Nick! Any idea where he is now?"

Marvin rolled his eyes. "I don't know, maybe at Suzanne's. I'm his friend, not his babysitter."

* * *

Instead of storming in Suzanne's apartment as well, they tried a friendlier approach. Greg, accompanied by a cop, knocked on the door. To his surprise, it wasn't Suzanne who opened. "Greg? What are you doing here? How do you know I'm..." Nick got interrupted by Greg giving him a hug.

"We were worried about you."

Nick greeted the officer with an uncomfortable look on his face. "Officer, thanks for your help but... Could you give us a minute alone?" When the officer walked outside the apartment building, Nick went on. "Greg, what the hell? You're getting me in trouble!"

"What? But..."

"I told Russell I was at home sick! Now he'll know I lied!"

"Well I'm sorry about that. Maybe it'll make you think twice about leaving a blood-stained shirt on a strangers' floor next time you get in a bar fight!" Greg was glad Nick was alright, but he was also angry with him.

"I'm sorry, I couldn't have known you'd go there and accidentally see this." He gave him a smile. "But thanks for worrying."


	8. Chapter 8

**Last chapter already! I hope you enjoyed the story! More will follow soon! Thanks for your support!**

**Big Love**

**pikapikatchu**

* * *

Nick and Greg were sitting in the break room the next day. Russell wasn't too happy to hear that Nick wasn't sick, after all, but the fact that he'd been in a bar fight was what really disappointed him. Nick had to work doubles for the next few days to make up for lying to him. He didn't mind, he knew it was wrong to lie to Russell. But right now, both men didn't think about that. Greg was just filling him in on what he missed at the lab the last days.

"Wow. You shoved her away?"

Greg nodded. "And it doesn't look like she'll ever forgive me."

"Did you explain to her that..."

Again, he nodded. "I tried to, but she didn't care."

"Well she'll have to forgive you eventually, you have to work together, after all."

"That's what I told her, but I don't think she cares about that, either." Greg sighed. "I just don't know what to do about it. I feel so stupid."

Nick put his hand on Greg's back to comfort him. "She might be someone who can't forget, but I'm sure she'll forgive. Give her some time, her ego's been hurt, that's all."

"I hope so... You know, maybe it's time I think about dating again."

Nick gave him a surprised smile. "Good. Maybe Marvin can set you up with one of his friends." He laughed.

"I'd say I'd have more chances if I'd asked Charlotte. He hates me even more than she does."

"Oh no, Greg. Hate is a strong word." When he received a look by Greg, he shrugged. "Well, maybe not unfitting, but..."

Greg smiled. "That's okay, too. I was being a real jerk. I almost punched him."

"What?!" Nick laughed. "You? You tried to punch him?"

"And I would've, if the officers would've kept restraining him, but not me!"

Nick laughed as he shook his head. "It's a good thing you didn't."

"Oh I don't know about that."

"Well I do. You should've seen him in that bar fight. Drunk as hell, but still able to take on three assailants. He has a short fuse, too."

"Are you gonna hang out with him again?"

Nick shook his head. "I don't think he'd like to and I know I don't want to."

Greg got off his seat. "Well, for what it's worth, I think he's a douche." He smiled at Nick before walking out.

Nick sat there for another few minutes to finish his coffee. It didn't take too long before he heard some noise and yelling from the hallway. He walked out of the break room to take a look at what was going on out there.

* * *

Nick prepared for a lot of things, but didn't expect this scenery. Three lab rats he could identify as Henry, Robin and Hodges, were yelling and trying to hold someone back. Sara was standing opposite of them, yelling, too, obviously trying to protect someone. Charlotte was standing by the side, yelling like the others. Without knowing what exactly was happening at the moment, Nick ran up to them. "Hey! Hey! What's going on?!" He was shocked to find that the one Sara was trying to protect was Greg, and the one the lab rats desperately were trying to hold back was in fact Marvin. Nick got in the middle of this and helped the lab rats to finally overpower the aggressive and very strong Marvin. "Calm down, man! Calm down!" Nick yelled, pushing him to the ground. It didn't take too long for two officers, one of them being officer Spencer, to join them. They helped Nick and without asking any questions, Spencer put Marvin in handcuffs.

Once Marvin was restrained, Nick hurried over to Greg. "Are you okay?"

"I'm fine..." Greg said while getting up. He had a bloody nose and a dark bruise would soon show on his cheek.

"What the hell was this about?!" Sara asked while supporting Greg.

"This is all my fault..." Charlotte said with a guilty look on her face. She went on to explain that she told Marvin about Greg's reaction when she kissed him. She also admitted that she might've exaggerated a bit. "I couldn't have known that this would happen! I'm sorry, Greg."

Nick walked over to Marvin. "I knew you were crazy, but I didn't think you'd be stupid enough to attack him in here!"

* * *

Marvin was released the same day they booked him in, but would be held responsible for attacking Greg in front of a judge later. Charlotte apologized to Greg not only for Marvin, but also for kissing him without knowing if he'd wanted her to or not. They reconciled when he accepted her apology and, once again, apologized himself for his reaction. It would take some time for them to become friends again, though.

"So..." Greg said, hopping off the hospital gurney he had been sitting on. Nick insisted a doctor checked out the injuries Marvin caused. "Let's head back to the lab."

"You want to go back to work?"

"Sure, why not? Nothing's broken, I'm fine. I have a workload of three days I'm supposed to take care of in one, I can't afford to go home and rest at the moment."

Nick rolled his eyes. "Fine, have it your way."

As they walked towards Nick's car, Greg did what he could do best – talk. "You and Suzanne... Is it gonna work out?"

Nick laughed a bit. "I'll call her later to break it off."

"Why?"

"Come on, seriously? I don't want to have to do anything with Marvin ever again. I can't date one of his friends."

Greg had a sympathetic look on his face. "Did you like her?"

"She's great." Nick smiled thoughtful.

"I'm sorry... If it's any help... Charlotte says she's a skank." Greg patted Nick on the shoulder playfully.

Nick laughed again. "Not sure that helps, Greg."

"You'll find someone else. And... speaking of it, I'm thinking about asking Bridget out."

"Bridget? …Bridget..." Nick tried to remember who she was.

"The victim's lawyer in one of your cases last week? We kind of hit it off but... You know."

"Oh right, Bridget. She's gorgeous, you should ask her out."

"And who knows. Maybe she has a friend we could hook you up with!" Greg smiled as he got in the car. Nick would find a date on his own in the next few weeks and Greg would have some great dates with Bridget. But at the moment, they were both happy singles.

* * *

Ende.


End file.
